President Obama has commuted over 1,000 sentences since entering White House
President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 79 people on Tuesday, pushing him over 1,000 commutations since entering the White House. In all, Obama has commuted the sentences of 1,023 people, including 342 people serving life sentences.
"The majority were offenders sentenced for nonviolent drug crimes," the White House said in a statement, adding, "To date, the president has granted commutations to more prisoners than the past 11 presidents combined."
In just 2016, Obama has released 839 people from federal prison so far. "We have two months left in this administration," White House counsel Neil Eggleston told Time. "I think you can anticipate that we will keep going until the end."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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